Retailers ramp up pressure on Reeves to scrap tax break for e-commerce rivals Retail Retailers have urged Rachel Reeves to “revitalise the high street” by speeding up plans to close a tax break which they say unfairly favours Chinese e-commerce rivals. High street giants like Next, M&S and Primark have urged the Chancellor to impose a £2.60 flat fee on small parcels to rebalance a system which they say [...]
Retail sales fall as Brits cut back on supermarket spending Retail Retail sales fell in February, as low spending in food and household goods stores could not offset the strong performance of online sellers. The quantity of goods bought in February fell by 0.4 per cent, down from the surprise two per cent rise in January, which was revised up from 1.8 per cent, according to [...]
Next unveils huge development in £2.5bn economy boost Retail Retail giant Next has unveiled a huge new development which it says will add £2.5bn to the economy, as the FTSE 100 firm invests over £300m in its warehouses. The firm has been granted planning permission to build a new 1.2m sq ft warehouse in its Elmsall complex in Yorkshire, with construction set to commence [...]
July fails to bring summer boost for high streets August 8, 2025 Footfall on UK high streets fell again in July as shoppers continued their slow move online, dashing retailers’ hopes for a summer boost. Overall footfall – which includes high streets, retail parks and shopping centres – fell 0.4 per cent in July, while high street footfall fell 1.7 per cent. Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA [...]
‘Irresponsible’ M&S ad gets banned for promoting ‘unhealthily thin’ models July 23, 2025 The UK’s advertising watchdog has upheld a complaint that Marks and Spencers used an “unhealthily thin” model to advertise clothes on its app. In its ruling on the M&S ad, the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) said the model “appeared unhealthily thin” and concluded that the ad was “irresponsible.” “The pose of the model and the [...]
Tiktok gives retailers a headache with boom in returns culture July 18, 2025 Retailers are facing a conundrum. Their customers are searching for and buying clothes via Tiktok and Instagram, but those same social media customers are increasingly less likely to keep the clothes they buy. A surge in the number of clothes sent back to retailers has caused issues with both costs and with environmental goals, but [...]
Alarm bells as retail sales suffer largest fall in 18 months June 20, 2025 UK high streets suffered from post-Easter fatigue among shoppers as official data showed retail sales dropped by 2.7 per cent in May. The Office for National Statistics said a fall in sales in May represented the largest month-on-month drop since December 2023. A Bloomberg poll of economists expected retail sales to drop by 0.5 per [...]
Asos replaces finance chief after just one year June 17, 2025 Asos’ chief finance officer Dave Murray has stepped down from his role after 15 months as the struggling commerce giant continued to push a turnaround. He will be replace by Aaron Izzard, who currently serves as director of group finance at Asos. Murray, who will leave to “pursue other opportunities”, has helmed Asos’ finance division [...]
Zara boss calls for crackdown on fast-fashion tax loophole May 9, 2025 The head of Zara’s parent company has called for a US-style crackdown on shipments of small goods in Europe to “level the playing field” between Chinese and European firms. Chinese giants Shein and Temu have heavily disrupted the global fashion market in the last few years, putting pressure on older companies. Part of their meteoric [...]
How did Next become an online shopping behemoth? May 8, 2025 A better-than-expected set of first-quarter results from Next this morning has highlighted its growing reputation as an online fashion platform. Online sales, which account for around 30 per cent on overall sales, grew by 8.9 per cent in the UK and 29.6 per cent internationally. Internet-based sales have been a bigger driver of revenue over [...]